Archery Team Antics
by Theblazepanzer24
Summary: Hanoashi Katoni and Miho Nishisumi where friends, however that friendships appears to have came to an abrupt end after Hanoashi complains about the Anglerfish crew's near death on the bridge. What's worse, not only was she kicked off the team, but nearly expelled from Ooarai as a result. Now she has to find a new way, this time as a member of Ooarai's Archery team.
1. Chapter 1

**Blazepanzer here, just wanted to say that I've created a new story. Somewhat of a prequel to my "Her reluctance fanfic." Enjoy!**

**Note: Blazepanzer does now own girls und panzer. **

"Hanoashi Katoni to the office please, Hanoashi Katoni to the office."

"It's probably just about getting a new club application forum," Her friend, Ayumi, soothed.

"I certainly hope so," Hanoashi whispered, taking a last bite of her sandwich before rising up and leaving the cafeteria. She made her way to the office, desperately hoping it was only about having to join a different club, but her gut told her other wise.

She quickly brushed her hair briefly, the familiar sight of her natural reddish-orange strands reminding her of how badly things could go wrong for her given her Irish Heritage. She'd already been sent to the office thrice due to one of her teachers, accusing her of dying her hair. The fact that she had no accent didn't help, she might be genetically Irish but her forefathers had lived in Japan since the mid 1800's.

Opening the door, her heart sank as she saw just how angry the principle looked. His face was angry and his hands where clenched.

"Hanoashi Katoni, do you know how much trouble you are in?" he began. "Picking a fight with the Sensado Instructor, Trying to punch her...as far as I'm concerned, you are a danger to this academy."

"But sir, I didn't fight with the..." Hanoashi protested, but was interrupted by the principle.

"I don't want to hear your excuses," he bellowed. "What I want you to do is leave from this academy ASAP."

"Sir..." Hanoashi whimpered, feeling the tears begin to roll from her eyes.

"Hanoashi Katoni, I hereby Ex..." he paused as a knocking from the door.

"Um...excuse me sir," a voice began.

"I'm a little busy here Yuzu," he barked.

"If it's about Hanoashi and the Sensado incident, there's something you should know," Yuzu persisted.

Hanoashi didn't dare let the small flutter of hope build. Sure, she knew Yuzu had probably came to defend her, but given what had happened, it might not make any difference.

"This had better be good Yuzu," he grumbled, before opening the door.

She felt Yuzu's arms wrap around her. "Shhh, don't cry Katoni-san," Yuzu comforted briefly before she turned on the principal. "With all due respect sir, what did you do to her?" she asked calmly.

"I was just about to expel this trouble maker." He remarked in a matter of fact tone.

"Trouble maker?" Yuzu asked, before glaring at the principal. "I can assure you that young Katoni here is no trouble maker," she growled. "Unless you mean the fact that she challenged the instructor for praising a tank commander who nearly directed her team off a bridge, which is quite the opposite of causing trouble."

"So...you are saying that she didn't try and pick a fight with the instructor...that she didn't pull a punch?" the principle asked, for the first time his voice was uncertain.

"What Yuzu said was true," a new voice echoed through the room.

Turning around, Hanoashi discovered that Anzu and Azusa had entered the room.

Letting out a sigh, the Principle turned to Hanoashi. "Sorry about that. I'm still not convinced you where in the right there, but it's nothing to expel you over," he bowed apologetically.

Wiping her tears, Hanoashi dared to look up hopeful. "I...I'm not getting expelled?"

"Unless Ami can prove the student council otherwise, then no," He promised. "But you're teachers expected you not to return to class after lunch, so I want you to take the day off. Also...I want you to chose a new elective."

"Is it okay if I take Archery then?" She asked. I...it's what I was going to take had Sensado not been reintroduced."

"Yes, of course," He allowed. "I'll let them know to expect you tomorrow afternoon."

"Thank you sir," Hanoashi bowed.

"Now, go and get you're bag and then head home and rest, I expect the best from you going forward." He then turned to Yuzu. "Please walk young Katoni home, alright?"

"Absolutely," Yuzu bowed.

"Than...thank you for everything," Hanoashi bowed before she stood up and left the room, Yuzu following.

"You alright," Yuzu asked as they walked silently to room 1-5.

"I...I think I will be," Hanoashi stammered, her green eyes dull with heartache at nearly getting expelled.

Yuzu nodded in understanding. "I can't believe he'd go off on you like that without even giving you a chance to explain what happened."

"Me neither...I wasn't trying to cause any trouble though, I just...freaked out when I saw the Panzer IV nearly fall in the revenue...and when she actually praised Miho after nearly causing the death of herself and four other students..." she paused when she felt Yuzu's hand slip on her shoulder.

"I believe you did the right thing. Most of us might not appreciate what you did now...but later on I think we'll be glad you did," she tried to comfort.

But...will it be too late? Hanoashi shook her head. "Maybe..."

The two trudged on in silence for a while. Her teacher had been glad she wasn't expelled, dispute their rocky start about her hair color. In fact, she and Sensei Hinaka had gotten along quite well as far as student teacher relationships go after that small incident had been cleared up.

"Still...I can't help but wonder what Instructor Chono was hoping to gain from all this mess," Yuzu pondered.

"I... I don't want to talk about it." Hanoashi closed her eyes, allowing a sad sigh to escape. "Thanks for walking me home," she added, bowing to Yuzu.

"It's no problem," Yuzu bowed slightly in return. "You should get some rest, things will look better tomorrow," she added.

"Alright...I hope so," she managed to croak out before she turned and entered her room. Normally, if someone offered to walk her home Hanoashi would have offered to serve them tea as a thank you. If she had no guests coming over, she'd fix herself a small snack and allow herself a few races in Gran Trumsio before starting her homework.

However, after nearly getting expelled, she didn't have the heart to do any of this. Opting to just lay down, she soon found herself in tears all over again, one word repeating over and over.

_Why?_

It was over two hours later that she heard her phone go off. Rushing over she picked up the phone, dread filling her mind when she saw who was calling.

"Hello?"

"First off...I don't know what's going on, but I know Ami's not telling me the whole story about what's happening," an angry voice resounded from the other side.

"She's not," Hanoashi croaked.

"Secondly, what the hell is my daughter doing back in Sensado?"

"Er..." she found herself confused. "Didn't Miho chose to come to Ooarai to escape Sensado?"

A fit of sarcastic laughter followed. "Is that what she's saying?"

"Well...that's what I overheard her saying...not too sure how much I buy into it." Hanoashi confessed.

"Well...she not entirely wrong. I chose to send her to Ooarai partially because of how uncomfortable Sensado was making her, but also because of what happened last year."

"So that's why she's here. I was actually surprised to see her."

"Not that it had done and good, I'm really getting worried about her," Shiho confessed.

"Me too, especially over what happened yesterday," Hanoashi fretted.

"What exactly did happen yesterday?" Shiho asked. "I mean, I know you are not the kind of girl to throw a punch at an instructor, not unless you where being assaulted."

"No punches where thrown." she promised, dreading informing the instructor about what her daughter had done, but they was no going back now. "She...Miho nearly lead the crew of our Panzer IV off a bridge, the only thing that saved them was a shot from our Stug III."

"Shit! I knew I was right!" Shiho swore.

"Instructor Nishisumi?" she whispered worriedly.

"When Miho first arrived at Kuromrorimine, Maho had convinced me to allow her to take command of the Sensado team for the year. Dispute being apprehensive at first, Miho did well for the first two months. Then...she began making mistakes."

"Mistakes?" Hanoashi gasped.

"They where small mistakes, nothing that would hurt anyone though. But as they began to mount, I increasingly became worried that they might lead up to a larger problem. So...I told her that maybe she might aught to step down as commander."

"But she didn't," Shiho continued after pausing for a breath. "You cannot be grandly victorious without sacrifice, and sometimes that means stepping down form a high ranking position. That's what I had told her."

"But Miho was an effective commander back at Nishmari...why would Kuromorimine be so different?"

Shiho sighed. "Part of the reason is because back then, Nishmari was just starting out. No one expected you to do too much in your first year, so as a result Miho didn't feel so pressured. The fact that the Co-ed academies use of a grid style of tournament over the high school girl's use of a bracket tournament also made things easier."

The advantage of the grid style tournament was that it gave each of the eight Co-ed academies a chance to fight each other, thus gaining more experience and it gave a team a chance to recover from a loss. It also made it easier to host an odd number of participating schools. However, the more schools who participated, the longer the tournament would last, and the more complicated the tournament became.

On the other hand the bracket style tournaments made it easier to hold large scale tournaments, keeping things neat and limiting the number of matches, however, it only worked within certain numbers and a loss during one of these tournaments meant you where out of the tournament.

"Yeah...I guess you're right." Hanoashi conceded.

"Still...if anything else happens, you let me know, alright?" Shiho requested.

"I will," Hanoashi promised.

"Thanks...And Blaze-san, I know you're a good kid, so take care of yourself," Shiho comforted before hanging up.

Staring at her phone in bewilderment of someone like Shiho using her childhood nickname, she soon found herself feeling a bit better about the situation. A quite smile soon erupted from her lips.

_Well...they say revenge is a dish best served cold_, she mused before rushing over to her desk and tearing into her homework. _So I figure I'll simply move on from this and show instructor Chono that her little expulsion stunt failed by being the best Archery team member I can._


	2. Chapter 2

Hanoashi let out a sigh as she walked to school, still depressed about yesterday's events. Granted, her talk with Shiho had lifted her spirits up, and the fact that she had not only managed to finish her homework and make up work but also unlock the Dodge Viper in Gran Trisumo had only improved her mood farther.

Still, she couldn't help but feel apprehensive about returning to a school she was supposed to have been expelled from. Glancing around, she noticed that people had been keeping their distance from her. Some people where even giving her nervous looks.

_Odd? I wonder what's going on here? _

Given that most of the people in Nishmari where partially or fully foreigner, she hadn't experienced any of the xenophobia some people had experienced growing up in Japan. Granted, most transfer students never experienced much of it, but a foreigner born in japan was different, especially if you had blond or natural reddish-ginger hair. She unfortunately had the latter.

"Hey...isn't that the dangerous girl? The one from the Sensado team?"

"Yeah, I heard she even decked the instructor," another girl whispered.

_Really? I though we had this all sorted out,_ Hanoashi inwardly pouted, but decided to keep silent and walk over to the school entrance.

"Katoni...first my records show you where expelled, then they say you are reinstated, but...people are saying that you decked the Sensado instructor," the Moral committee guard mused as she passed by.

"Sono-simpai," Hanoashi bowed. "Let me make it clear, I didn't deck the instructor, all I did was call out out the instructor for praising a student who nearly got herself and four other students killed." she added seriously.

"Don't worry Katoni, I believe you. Besides, Yuzu told me what was going on. Although...I never expected this rumor to get out of hand."

She couldn't help but tip her head. "How bad is it?"

"So bad that Rikona's prepping a Heiress defense force to protect you." Sono remarked sternly. "Aacob has already been stationed in your class as a precaution."

"I thought my sister was stationed at Bellwall?" she asked, a thousands thoughts going through her mind.

"Look...it's Rikona's idea and Shiho pushed for it, so you have Aacob now, and later Acer and Sachi will be joining in a few days."

"Exactly how dangerous is the situation?" Hanoashi could already feel her heart tightening.

"You've got a vindictive Sensado instructor with a tank commander firmly under her thumb and a bunch of students who clearly think you are a danger to the school," Sono admitted direly.

"Miho would never go through with such an order!" Hanoashi whispered fiercely.

"Hanoashi, be serious with me," Sono stated flatly. "Before the day before yesterday, would you have ever expected Miho to try and guide a tank off a bridge?"

"That's not..." Hanoashi began, but Sono interrupted her.

"Come-on , that's exactly what that looked like she was doing. Some of the Sensado team has confided in us about what happened, Miho included."

"Miho...confided in you?" Hanoashi asked.

"Yeah, she spend the whole afternoon with the student therapist as well as us." suddenly she leaned in closer. "Hanoashi, Miho is very close to reaching a danger zone."

"Is there any thing I can do?" Hanoashi whispered.

"I'd wait until she calls you and try to keep my distance. I know that will be hard on you, but if you're seen with her," Sono suddenly let out a shudder. "It could get ugly with the way people are talking, and especially acting, right now."

_No!_ She couldn't help but slink in disappointment. "I...I never meant for things to happen like this."

"I know," Sono encouraged her. "Those of us who know you also know that. For now, just try to focus on class and let us deal with resolving the situation, alright?"

"I'll try," Hanoashi whispered. She bowed quickly before making her way into the school.

"Ah, there you are."

Turning to her right she noticed Aacob was waiting for her. "Thanks for coming, Onichan," Hanoashi whispered as she embrasure her sister.

"Anything you you, my little Yolko," Aacob whispered.

"Shino," Hanoashi huffed good naturally before the two separated.

Hanoshi often called her sister Shino after the popular Sniper/Archer from Sword Art Online due to how much Aacob looked like her. There where differences, for example Aacob had medium brown hair, and she had longer hair than Shino, but the two looked exactly alike otherwise.

In return Aacob started referring her to Yolko giving how similar Hanoashi looked to that character, also from Sword art online. There where a lot more more differences however, for example Hanoashi was shorter, had reddish-orange hair, green eyes, and was Irish. However, she and Yolko had the same hair style, body type, and similar measurements other than height.

"You okay Imoto?" Aacob asked, glancing around. "I've heard way too many rumors about you, rumors I know are not true."

Shaking her head, Hanoashi let out a sigh. "Not really, but I'll live. More importantly, I'll prove those rumors wrong."

"I hope so." Aacob nodded. "If things get much worse though you may be transferred."

"Which school?" Hanoashi tipped her head.

"Right now, it's a tie between going with Rikona to Sanders or returning to Bellwall with me. It's hard to tell which one father's going to chose." Aacob then smiled. "Anyways we really aught to head to class."

Heading off, the two mad their way to class, promptly ignoring any whispers erupting about her, which erupted into rumors about them.

"Why is she here?" someone whispered.

"Hey...you shouldn't be hanging around with someone so dangerous!" A teacher suddenly bellowed.

She and Aacob turned around, gaping at the teacher behind them who yelled about that.

"Excuse me..." Aacob growled, her eyes glowing with rage.

"This girl punched an instructor. She's dangerous, and was supposed to be expelled yesterday," the teacher explained, before wrapping her hands around Aacob. "Come along dear, I know some better friends for you to make... Ahhhh!" The teacher soon found herself laying on the ground.

"Very funny Aacob," one of the resource officers muttered, before helping the teacher up. "Just so you know Sensei Talner, Aacob is Hanoashi's adopted older sister, and well know for more...aggressive actions." he informed.

"Hm...being adopted to such a Gaijin, that makes sense," the teacher muttered.

Hanoashi, who had before watched the incident with a mix of dread and bemusement, suddenly felt rage building up in her. "You have no idea how much Oni-chan has been through!" she screeched, causing any bystanders to recoil.

Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down. "Sorry Senesi," she bowed apologetically "My sister's been through a lot before being adopted by my father, her biological father killed her mother right before her eyes, and then forced young Aacob into doing all sorts of unsavory acts. Drinking booze, multi-hour long massage sessions, beating her up for the smallest things, and given she was ignored by Japan's child protective services, she has a hard trusting the system will do her right."

Some of the students glanced at Aacob with sympathy, but most of them still held sneering or panicked gazes. The teacher just glanced at the officer, who shook his head,"True story," he admitted. "Poor girl's had it rough, thank Maus the Katoni were able to adopt her earlier this year."

Talner let out a small huff. "Just keep your sister away from me," she muttered as she walked away.

"Aacob Katoni, I don't tolerate decking teachers, but giving how much shit I've had to deal with coming from both the Matsumino and Instructor Nishisumi," the Headmaster paused as he approached, before letting out a small sigh. "Just...just get to class," he huffed before stomping off.

Inconsistent muttering erupted after he left, the old rumor being analyzed biased on the new situation. Some gave Aacob worrying or frighted looks, some glared angrily at them both, and a few burst out laughing. Talner wasn't exactly popular among most students, many people who looked foreigner had it rough with her. Not that discrimination was a wide spread issue in Japan, however, as most people in Japan where fairly accepting of foreigners to an extent. It was primarily a few holdouts like Talner.

"Come on sis, we need to get to class," Aacob chimed.

Class was going well and almost over when the call came.

"Hanoashi Katoni to the office please, you may bring Aacob with you if you like. Hanoashi Katoni to the office."

Letting out a groan, Hanoashi stood up before bowing, "Pardon the interruption," she apologized, before walking out the door, Aacob following. "I'm really about ready to transfer schools," she hissed once out of ear-shot of the class rooms.

"What more could they want?" Aacob whispered back angrily "Don't they know all this is accomplishing is a constant interruption of your education?"

_Unless they want us both to leave this academy, which is all but fine by me,_ Hanoashi mused. She knocked on the principle's door.

"Come in," the Headmaster commanded.

He doesn't seem overly angry at least, she mused, before stifling a gasp. Before her was her father, one Shiho Nishisumi, her cousin, Rikona Matsumino, and a handful of other officials.

"You're not in trouble young Katoni," one of the officials soothed, before indicating for her and Aacob to sit down.

"How can I be of help?" Hanoashi asked softly, tipping her head in confusion as she sat down.

"Well...we want to hear exactly what happened during your first match," one of the officials remarked.

Glancing down, she couldn't help but clutch the edge of her skirt in fear. "Why?" She whispered, not liking the fact that she was being asked to relive that awful day.

"We know you didn't punch the instructor, Katoni-san, we just want your side of what happened during the match," another official urged.

Finding herself shuddering until Aacob took her hand briefly, Hanoashi took a deep breath. "Well... I had been made commander of the M3 Lee shortly before the match. Originally I had offered to be the driver, but Ayumi found out about my Sensado accolades back at Nishmari Co-ed middle school academy. As...As a result, I became in charge of the M3 Lee."

Taking a deep breath, she allowed herself to continue. "So when our instructor arrived, things seemed normal, aside from the fact that she ended up smashing the headmasters car with her tank," she added, glancing between Shiho and the Headmaster nervously.

"Um..." the headmaster glanced between her, her father, and Rikona nervously.

"What...please tell me you didn't think that I..." Hanoashi gasped, covering her mouth in shock. She tried to take a small breath, but realized that she was about to lose her lunch. Quick as a flash she rushed out the door, quickly finding her way to the bathroom, arriving just in time.

After reliving herself, she punched the bathroom stall. "Fucking Damn it!" she growled, ignoring the pain that soared through her fist. "Why?" she shopped. "I was just trying to do the right thing..."

"Cussing isn't exactly ladylike," a familiar voice chided softly.

"Instructor Nishisumi," Hanoashi whispered, before bowing apologetically. "You're right, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, I can't blame you for being upset," Shiho noted. "But...what exactly do you want to do?" she added quizzically.

"I...I'm not sure," she glanced up, placing her finger on her chin in thought. "On one hand I'd like to stay here and prove these rumors about me wrong. But...the longer I stay here the more I'm convinced that I may need to transfer."

"You've got options, Rikona's offering you the opportunity to transfer to Bellwall or St. Gloriea Academy, and like you said you wan to try and prove these baseless rumors for what they are." Shiho let out an ever so faint smile. "Or...if you want to take up Sensado again, I could transfer your scholarship to Kuromorimine," she offered.

_Shiho's offer is tempting...but I'm not too sure I could go for it, _she thought to herself, before shaking her head slightly. "I appreciate the offer, but I'd have to think on it a lot," she apologized.

"That's perfectly alright Blaze-san, my Academy is always open to you." Shiho smiled. "Truth be told, I was actually going to offer you a Sensado Scholarship, but the incident during the last finals caused a lot of delays and by the time we got around to sending them out, you had already been reserved to Ooarai."

Hanoashi felt a bit hurt and uneasy by this revelation. _If I had just waited a little longer...then I wouldn't be in this mess,_ she mused, before mentally kicking herself. "I imagine things where quite bad at that time," she sympathized.

Shiho nodded. "Two Students drowned during the incident, the third later succumbed to her injuries. Erika and Komue both survived, but had different opinions on the issue."

_Three people died?_ Hanoashi gasped inwardly, now feeling like a tank shell just hit her gut. "You said that Erika and Koume had differing opinions on the situation..." she rasped, trying to understand.

Shiho nodded. "Erika thinks that Miho was completely irresponsible and was at fault for the deaths of the three we lost. Meanwhile, Koume thinks everything was a freak accident, and that Miho was very brave for trying to save everyone." She then let out a gusty sigh. "Personally, while I think Miho bears some blame for leading them into a dangerous position, I didn't place her a fault for what happened. But...but now, with everything that has happened here, I'm not sure what to think. The only thing I do know is that it's affected Miho badly, she feels responsible for the deaths of those three."

"Ultimately, the reason you wanted Miho to come to Ooarai was because you wanted to protect her from developing more guilt about the situation, rather than out of a sense of her being...dangerous, right?" she dared to challenge.

Shiho let out an uncharacteristic laugh. "You Katoni are too damn perceptive," she chuckled, before nodding. "But you are correct, I'm more concerned about my daughter's well being than most people think." Shiho then began to head out the door. "They're still waiting to hear the rest of you're report."

"Yeah, I'm just hoping I'm not going to have to deal with this much longer," Hanoashi muttered, her foul mood returning, though she followed her out of the restroom irregardless.

"You know, I'm surprised none of the other Sensado Academies offered you a scholarship," Shiho piped up as they walked back to the room. "After all, the co-ed academies are much harsher for grade schools students given that you have a minimum of fourteen official matches, sixteen if you make it to the grand championship, and you've been in the program for three years.

_That is a good point,_ she thought in bemusement. "I'm not really sure either."

The grid style of the coed academies meant that you had to face every academy at least once, and given they where a total of eight academies, that meant seven matches per tournament. This held true for both the summer and the winter cups. The four schools with the most points however participated in a bracket-style tournament, much like the girl's high school Sensado tournaments where held. It was sort of akin to the Superbowl for the Co-ed middle school program if you will.

Entering the room, Hanoashi bowed apologetically. "I'm sorry about that," she whispered, before sitting back down. "Anyways, aside from the car incident, things progressed normally for a brief while. Ami introduced herself, and encouraged us to do our best given most of us where participating for the first time." Taking a small pause to breath, she then continued. "Then she came up to Miho and said, Wait, aren't you the daughter of instructor Nishisumi? The instructor has done a lot for me. Is your sister doing well?"

Shiho frown. "That's the most plastic introduction I've ever heard," she hissed under her breath.

"What exactly did you do for her through?" one of the investigators asked leaning forward.

She simple shrugged. "I only tutored her in gunnery when she was about to be kicked off the team for poor performance and later gave a letter of recommendation to the JSDF on her behalf."

_If I take up her offer to join Kuromrorimine's Sensado team, I'm going to have to be extra careful to do right by her_. Hanoashi mused, knowing Shiho was regretting that act of charity toward Ami right now.

"Going back to the subject at hand, what exactly happened next?" an official requested.

Clearing her throat, she looked down. "Ami...she pitted us in a mock match, without any instruction what-so-ever."

"And that's when you protested about safety procedures?" the headmaster asked, leaning forward.

Hanoashi shook her head. "No sir." she quickly explained the more mundane portions of the match, up until she came up on the aftermath of the match. "After she congratulated Miho's team, I said, Wait a minute, it's true that she did a good job taking the other team out, but she also put her teammates in peril on the bridge. Ami then challenged me if I was trying to be rude toward Miho and I simply said that I think we really need to work on safety procedures."

"And that's when she kicked you off the team," Shiho asked.

Nodding, Hanoashi once again clutched the edges of her skirt. "I wasn't trying to be rude or offensive, I...I was just scared, I saw one of my best friends nearly lead a crew of four new team members off a bridge, and I'm frightened that the Ooarai Sensado team is heading for danger."

"You did the right thing," one of the officials noted. "We'll be writing a letter of condemnation to Ami for this incident, as well as reminding her that she is responsible for training these kids, not Miho."

"I'll add my name to this letter as well. Ami must know better than to try and use my daughter to further her ambitions." Shiho growled. Rising up, the three officials bowed, before exiting the room, Shiho following.

Likewise, Hanoashi and her family soon found themselves in the hallway. "You okay Cousin?" Rikona asked as she embraced her.

Enjoying the comfort of her Rikona's embrace, Hanoashi just hummed softly for a few brief seconds. "I think I will be now," she whispered after a few moments.

"Good, Rikona whispered softly, before pulling back. "Listen, if Ooarai put one more foot wrong, I'm taking over, alright?"

"Yo...you don't have to force yourself," Hanoashi stammered. I..I mean, don't you want to be a nurse?"

Rikona nodded. "Yes, but Ooarai might need me more." she then hugged the red haired girl again. "I wish I could stay longer, but Sanders only gave me today off, so I'm expecting a flight back to that carrier in a few hours."

"It's alright cousin, thank you so much for coming." Hanoashi whispered gratefully.

"Stay safe, Rikona whispered, before de-embracing heading off on her own.

Hanoashi watched her go, before turning to her father.

"I'm proud of you for doing the right thing," he praised, patting her on the head briefly.

I hope that I did the right thing," she remarked.

"Do you really think Rikona is thinking about taking over? I mean, her mother is the rightful inheritor of the academy, yet Rikona would rather pursue a medical career. " Aacob wondered.

"Personally, I believe that she's already decided to and just hasn't realized it yet." Drake speculated.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: **

**I'd like to thank each of you who have taken the time to read my fanfic, your support means a lot to me! I've enjoyed writing this story and I'm hoping that I'm doing this story justice. **

**So far it's being doing good, along side it's sequel, "Her Reluctance". "Archery team Antics" has just surpassed 100 views while "Her Reluctance" has surpassed 1000 views, so I'm very happy with with how the story has done. Speaking of which, I've made some progress on the next chapter of "Her Reluctance, I'm about a third or a forth of the way of having it done. **

**"****But that's enough rambling. Enjoy! Blazepanzer does not own Girls und Panzer. **

"But didn't she strike an instructor?"

Samori sighed as her fellow club member brought up this point once again. "No, at least we have no proof. Besides, not only did the principle resend his expulsion order, but our instructor seems to think this whole thing is made up."

"But what is she lobs an arrow at us?"

"Takio," Samori gazed at her evenly. "I have my doubts about Katoni as well. However, we owe it to her to give her a chance."

"I don't see why we owe her anything," a new voice chimed in.

"We will not cast her out the moment she joins our club," Samori hissed. "But like I said, Katoni will be watched over closely."

"I think we should be grateful to even have a new member."

_Finally, someone different than these doubters_, Samori grunted inwardly. "We were close to being shut down, had Rose not joined us, then this would have been our last archery team." Samori agreed. "But Katoni...is she really the new member we want?"

Her attention was turned as she noticed that Rose had arrived, a Ginger haired girl to her left and a brown haired girl to her right.

"Samori," Rose bowed slightly. "Heiress command has sent Aacob over to keep an eye out for Katoni-san," she informed.

A few whispers erupted from the others, but Samori extended her hand sideways, shushing the others. "Then let it be so," she nodded.

**Hanoashi POV: ten minutes earlier:**

Taking her bag, she let out a quiet sigh as she glanced at her sister. "Well, I guess we'd better head over to the archery range," she whispered.

"Try not to let it get to you too much, sis," Aacob patted her head. "Besides, you've got me to protect you."

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Um...you're Katoni, right?"

Hanoashi and Aacob both turned to a brown haired girl with light brown eyes, about 5'4" tall. "Yeah, that's us," Aacob replied.

"My name is Rose Maruyama," the girl bowed. "I...guess you could that you're my new clubmate." she added sheepishly.

"You're on the archery team?" Hanoashi asked.

Rose nodded. "Yep! Our club president asked me to show you the way to our club."

"Th...thank you," she breathed. "To be honest, I'm a little nervous, about changing clubs."

"Don't worry, I think you'll fit in after we get to know you a bit." Rose encouraged. "Still...Thank you."

"For what?" Hanoashi asked, tipping her head.

"For keeping my sister safe," Rose smiled. "She was the loader in the M3 lee, I think."

"Saki is your sister?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Yep!" Rose then frowned. "Still, I can't believe these rumors about you. It's...almost like instructor Chono ..."

"I'd...rather not talk about Chono." Hanoashi interrupted, before walking away.

Aacob shook her head. "Give her a few moments, any mention of that persons seems to upset her.

_I don't need you to defend me Aacob!_ Hanoashi ranted inwardly as she continued walking toward the shoe locker.

A bit later she stopped, her anger abated. "Sorry Rose...it's just...I nearly did get expelled, and it's...just too much."

"I understand," Rose reassured her. "Is...your sister joining us?"

'Kinda, though mostly I'm assisting the Archery instructor, so I won't be firing any arrows." Aacob admitted.

Smiling, she slipped her shoes on. "Rose...is the team okay with me joining? I mean, with all the rumors going about..."

Rose sighed. "They are a bit nervous, but I think that they'll give you a chance if you give them one."

Nodding, she kept quiet for a bit. _Great, maybe I should have took Shiho up on her offer to join Kuromorimine,_ she grumbled. "I will do everything I can to earn their trust." she vowed.

Her eyes widened as she entered the massive hanger, archery stalls lining nearby the entrance, with various bows lined up along the wall. A batch of various arrows where held in quivers, about ten quivers per bow type.

"Those are the advanced bows," Rose pointed out. "Not even I've shot one yet, although I've seen the other students show them off during the demonstration."

"I'd imagine it'd take a lot of skill to fire one of those longbows," she noted, her green eyes going over the slender wooden bow.

"More strength than skill," Rose pointed out. "Still, you'll probably start out with a compound bow...wait." Pausing, Rose glanced at her. "Is this your first time in bowmenship?"

Hanoashi nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. I've always been more into Panzerfaren then other sports before now."

"You'll probably start out with the cub bows, then," Rose informed, pointing to them with her nose. "They're the ones that look a bit like a miniature longbow." Moving, Rose motioned for her to follow. Obliging, she soon found herself in a room with five others.

"Samori, Heiress command has sent Aacob over to keep an eye out for Katoni-san," Rose informed.

Bowing slightly, Hanoashi pushed down her apprehensiveness.

"Very well then," the girl named Samroi noted. "Hanoashi, I'd like a word in private, the rest of you can take your positions in the range. Aacob, you should join our instructor in the viewing room.

Watching as the others left, she turned her attention to the club president.

"First things first, my last name is so damn hard to say, so please, refer to me as Samroi-sempai, or just sempai."

"Oh...okay," Hanoashi noted.

"Second, as I'm sure you have heard, there's a lot of vicious rumors about you." Samroi paused. "I know not how true said rumors are, but both Rose and the Instructor seem to trust you."

Taking a deep breath, she frowned. "Had it not been for that, I'd have rejected your application. That being said, I'm willing to give you a chance, so don't blow it, alright?"

"I understand Sempai," Hanoashi chorused, desperately trying to hide her disappointment. _Was Rose lying?_ She wondered fearfully._ Either way, I'm going to either earn my way here or transfer to Kuormorimine if that chance they speak of giving me is halfhearted. _

"By the way, is this your first time firing a bow?" Samroi asked.

"Yeah, I've been mostly in Sensado since my second year in grade school," she admitted.

Samori glanced at her funny. "Interestingly. Still, I'll teach you to fire a scout bow. Follow me," she commanded.

Following, she felt a bit of satisfaction. _I hate to break it to you, but I'm a veteran in terms of the Sensado grade school league. I've acquired two third place in the tournaments, as well as a championship win and runner up championship during my time as Nishamri's sensado team commander. _

"I'll carry the bows and arrows over to the range," Samroi announced before taking a bow and quiver, before directing her over to the range.

Entering the box, Hanoashi suddenly felt claustrophobic briefly. She jumped as Samori spoke up.

"First things first, a few quick basics. In Archery, your goal is to fire your arrow, aiming to hit the colored circles on the target. The red dot is a perfect shot, with the yellow ring being a decent shot, and the blue ring being a hit. Hitting the black ring is considered neutral, so you won't lose points. Hitting the white outline nets you a loss of one point, while missing the target nets you a loss of three points."

"So, the Red area is the best, yellow and blue are good, black is a bit of a mercy area. Missing is bad, right?"

"Duh, I just said that," Samroi chuckled. "But at least you've got it. "Oh, and actually hit someone or try to and your ass will be locked in a jail cell before you even know what's happening."

**Aacob POV: **

"I wasn't aware that Hanoashi had a sister," Kutoma admitted.

"Well, most people aren't. I was only adopted into the Katoni family a few months ago." Aacob admitted.

"Do you miss your birth parents?"

Aacob shrugged. "My mother, yes, but not my old...father." She continued as Kutoma glanced at her funny. "He was...abusive and that's all that I'll say about that."

"Is she doing alright? I mean, with the rumor going on and all..."

"She's managing," Aacob noted. She was about to say more but an alarm went off, Sending Kutoma running.

Following, Aacob gasped as she saw a girl freeze, drop something that looked a bit like a pipe, and take off. Having been forced to smok one herself as punishment for refusing to rub her former father's legs, Aacob quickly shot after the girl.

"Stop!" she shouted, but the suspect kept going. Aacob rushed forward, slowly catching up to the girl, before tackling the girl.

"Gotcha!" Aacob grunted, Before grasping the girl harshly on the arm. "You...are coming with me."

With that, Aacob half pushed, half dragged the poor girl to the archery range, where several police officers where standing around.

"Ah, so you've managed to catch her," one of the officers approached.

"So it would seem," Aacob shrugged verbally, pushing said girl toward the police officer.

"What is your name?" the officer asked seriously.

"Tama Sikowana," Said girl nearly whispered, her brown eyes trembling.

"You know this stuff is Illegal, right?" the officer reprimanded, holding up the contraband.

The girl sighed. "I...I know. It's just...My father died and some girl offered me a lot of money to plant that on her."

"I don't buy that," Aacob grunted.

"It's true!" Tama protested. "She was about...5'7" and had blue eyes, looks very Japanese."

Aacob walked up to her very slowly. "Your eyes and mouth are twitching, your left hand is twiddling the edge of your skirt, and your voice is exceedingly panicky." she challenged.

"Okay fine!" said girl shouted. "I wanted to get the girl who struck an instructor banned from the school!" Said girl snapped, before pointing toward Hanoashi. "You! You shouldn't be here! You should be..."

The girl paused when one of the officers grabbed her hand, swiftly placing the girl in handcuffs. "I'm arresting you on charges of drug possession," he announced. "Now move it!"

Aacob watched as the girl was escorted out before turning to Hanoashi. "Sis, I'm taking you home for the day."

"But..." her sister protested, but Aacob raised her hand.

"You're in no condition for fire any more arrows tonight," Aacob informed her, before she grabbed their bags, followed by her gently wrapping her arm around Hanoashi as she began to guide her back home.

**Samori POV: **

_Stunned. _

That was how Samori described how she felt about the scene that had unfolded. One moment she was trying to teach her newest club member how to fire arrows, then the next moment someone was breaking in, trying to plant contraband in Hanoashi's school bag.

"Glad I installed those alarms," Kutoma muttered beside her. "Alright," He added more loudly. "Archery is dismissed for the evening, please clean up and then you may all head home."

Sighing in disappointment, she walked into the stall she and Hanoashi had been in, passing through the shot-chute to retrieve the three arrows Hanoashi had managed to fire off before the alarm founded. Her mind went back to when the alarm first resounded.

**Flashback: **

"You need to arch your shots slightly," she informed the ginger. "At this range, you can't simply fire your arrows like you can at short range, they are not like guns."

"I...I think that I get what your saying," Hanoashi stammered, before taking another arrow and firing it at the target.

_She hasn't tried to fire at me yet,_ she mused as she watched the most recent shot launch. _Maybe that rumor is just that, a rumor with no base in reality. Still... I'm partially responsible for the safety of my club members, and I'm not comfortable taking on someone with her reputation. Not that mine was all that good in middle school. _

Shaking the thoughts from her thoughts, she couldn't help but smile as Haoashi's latest shot landed in the blue. "Looks like you are getting better," Samroi chimed.

"Th...thanks," Hanoashi smiled back, her had about to take another arrow before the alarm sounded. "What's that?" the girl asked, her green eyes surprised yet twinged with curiosity.

"That's the alarm, when the range is hot, it sounds off if someone tries to enter the front of the hanger..."

"Stop!"

Samori stiffened as Aacob's voice resounded from the room. "Hanoashi, give me the bow," Samroi growled.

Her eyes softened as she noticed that Hanoashi slowly became panicked. Yet the girl obliged.

"Hopefully, this isn't a school shooting, but we are authorized to fire if someone tries to fire at us," Samroi noted. She ignored the small gasp that came from her clubmate.

Relaxing as Kutoma came back in, she relaxed her grip on the bow. "Everyone, please place your bows in the holder and exit the range," he informed them.

"What's wrong?" a girl asked, her voice excited. "Is there a fire? Or maybe an accident?"

"No Lori, but it appears someone was trying to implant contraband in young Katoni's school bag.

_Get your ADHD under control Lori!_ Samroi groaned inwardly. Lori didn't actually have ADHD of course, but she had a tendency to get overly excited when things got exciting.

"Why would they want to do that to me though?" Hanoashi asked, her expression confused.

_I don't know_, Samroi thought.

**End of Flashback. **

Samroi removed the last arrow, frowning as a wave of sadness fell on her. "Katoni...san...irregardless of how true that rumor was, you did not deserve this.

**Hanoashi POV:**

Sighing as she rose up from the bed, she took her phone off of her desk end exited the doom, walking a ways before dialing the number.

"Katoni-san, it's good to hear from you, albeit a bit late," a woman answered.

"Instructor Nishisumi, I apologize for the late call."

"That's quite alright, I was just about to take a break from going over documents. "Believe you me kid, document work is such a drag."

"I can imagine, although I tend to enjoy homework and test, so it''d probably not be that much of a drag on me though."

"Aww, Katoni-san, don't be such a drag, Miho often complained of how long your reports where." Shiho whined tenderheartedly.

"But with me wanting to be an English teacher, reading and writing are important, so anything I can do to improve that is helpful for me in achieving my dream job," Hanoashi pointed out.

"True," Shiho agreed.

"Do you..." Hanoashi paused, finding herself a bit shy as she realized what she was about to ask. "Do you remember what we talked about yesterday?"

"Yeah, I do." Shiho admitted.

"Is...is the offer still available?"

"Of course! Hanoashi, I wouldn't offer to adopt your scholarship one day and then snub it the next, especially since I was going to give you the same scholarship to begin with."

"Is...is it okay if I schedule a tour of the school then?"

"Of course, I'll arrange your flight and your permission and give you a call when everything is set up, alright?"

"Thanks Shiho...I really appreciate this."

"It's no problem. If I may ask though...did something happen?"

Pausing, she debated on whether or not to tell her what happened in full. "I'm...you could say something almost happened, but I'm not really up to talking about it." she managed to get out.

"I understand. Like I've said before though, my doors are always open to you."

"Thanks Instructor," Hanoashi sighed. "I guess I'd better head to bed though, Aacob's already asleep."

"Funny, I should be just like her. Still, make sure you get plenty of sleep, alright?"

"Alright Instructor," she promised. "Good night."

"Good night," Shiho chorused.

Sneaking a glance at the night sky, she found herself feeling a bit relieved, yet her thoughts where tempered with sorrow, uncertainty, and reluctance. _I really don't want to leave Ooarai, but if this is the kind of shit that I have to deal with, I'm out. _


	4. Chapter 4

**Blazepanzer here, and a small brief note: I've uploaded the previous chapter the night before this chapter was posted, so if you for some reason haven't read that chapter yet, please make sure you do. It'll help this chapter make some sense. **

**With that being said, enjoy! Blazepanzer does not own Girls ind Panzer. **

"Next stop is Kuromorimine Academy," her pilot announced. "I just wish it where under different circumstances." he added somberly.

"Me too, but if I can't get a proper education at Ooarai, then I must seek out alternatives," Hanoashi remarked.

"If I may ask though, why Kuromorimine? I mean, Rikona-san offered to pay for Sanders or Bellwall, so wouldn't you rather school with your sister or cousin?"

"If I'm transferring to a different school, then I want to go to one with ridged rules and competent officials. Sanders is too laid back for my comfort, while Bellwall is still just getting back on her feet and besides, any of the delinquents who still might bee there...well let's just say that they may try and capture me to punish my sister in some way."

"I never thought of that before," the pilot mentioned.

"Either way, my plan isn't set in stone just yet." she cautioned. "For now, I'm just trying to gauge whether or not I'll fit at this new school, and besides, I still might be able to salvage my relationship with Ooarai."

Landing on the strip, she jumped out of the passenger seat of the prop-plane, throwing her flight jacket over the top revealing her red sleeveless polo shirt. During visits, one was forbidden to wear their school uniforms, as such she had to visit in more or less civilian clothes.

"Katoni-san," A voice called out.

"Nishisumi Sempai!" Hanoashi smiled, walking over to the older sibling. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you as well, and please, feel free to just call me Maho."

"Thanks."

"Still, I'm sorry to hear that you're having issue at Ooarai."

"It's a shame, especially since I was having fun there at first." she admitted sorrowfully.

"Are you outright transferring or just looking at options today."

"I'm kinda in the middle," Hanoashi admitted. "While I'm not absolutely ready to make the transfer call yet, I'm getting so fed up with my old school that I'm 90% sure that I'll make the call in the next week or so."

Maho patted her on the shoulder blade. "Mother really wanted you to come to Kuromorimine, it's just that with everything going on..."

"That by the time she got around to register scholarships, I had already signed off with Ooarai," Hanoashi finished.

"Yeah. That being said, she doesn't want to force you to transfer either, so whatever you end up choosing to do, you have mother's support, and mine."

"Thanks Maho. But in all seriousness, I'll probably end up transferring here unless Ooarai end ups having a massive turn around in the near future."

"So this is the Sensado sheds," Maho announced, leading her down into one of the bays. "There's others, but their contents are a bit of a secret." she added.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in finding out those secrets, not unless I do end up transferring." the ginger haired girl reassured her friend.

"Mostly we use heavy tanks, so they might be a bit slower than you are use to." Maho warned. "But between you and me we do have a few old Panzer IV's we could rustle up."

_The IV sounds good, but is it right to ask them to go through so much trouble for me?_ She thought self-consciously. "I'll have to think about the IV," Hanoashi decided, before gazing around. "I see you have a lot of tank destroyers." she commented.

"Yeah, they have good armor and an excellent gun," Maho began, but paused as she noticed her friend was in deep thought. "Something on your mind?"

Hanoashi shook her head. "No, it's just if it where me, I'd add a small fleet of fast medium tanks to deal with lightly armored opponents."

"Well, now that you mention it, we do have two Panzer III's in dry storage, perhaps I'll add one of them to the roster."

_I was thinking about two or three would be better, but whatever,_ Hanoashi argued inwardly.

"And this is Sensei Becker, who'll be your new homeroom teacher should you decide to transfer," Maho announced.

_Wow, you've even got my homeroom teacher picked out for me already_, Hanoashi silently mused as she bowed politely. "Instructor."

"Shiho spoke quite highly of you," Becker mused, her Japanese heavily influenced by her German accent.

"Oh...uh thank you!" Hanoashi squeaked in embarrassment.

"So, you're planning on becoming an English teacher?" Becker asked gently.

"Um yes, but how did you know?" she asked, tipping her head.

"Shiho told me all about you," Becker smiled. "Still, I hope you'll give us a chance."

_I think I will_, Hanoashi smiled.

Maho Glanced at the clock," Well, it's about time for lunch, so I guess you have the rest of the day to do whatever you want, look around the carrier, get something to eat, that kind of stuff."

"Oh, okay then, thanks for the tour," Hanoashi bowed. A torrent of students rushed passed her, eager to head off toward lunch.

"Ara ara," Becker mused. "This is the only class that does that," she lamented, half serious, half jokingly.

_I guess there's one in every school,_ Hanoashi mused._ It's just at Ooarai, it's the Sensado Team_.

Stifling a sigh, she took her time walking through the halls a bit, familiarizing herself with the main school. _I wonder, would thing have been different had I chose to take one of the ship courses?_ She wondered. _Granted, that would interfere with my dream be becoming an English Teacher a bit, but still, maybe if I had joined I wouldn't be in this mess. Then again had I waited until Shihon had sent over that scholarship, or Ooarai never started Sensado... _

Shaking the thoughts from her mind she took out her carrier map. _Hm, not much, a few restaurant, a convenience store, some clothing and grocery stores, and a ...game shop?_ Pausing, she glanced up from her map for a few moments before glancing down again. _Kuromorimine had a Game Shop? _

She shook her head. "I'll check that out if I transfer," she told herself before closing her map.

It was late at night when she returned to Ooarai. Sighing as she entered the door, Aacob greeted her with a smile.

"So how was Kuromrorimine?" Aacob asked, handing her a pork bun and a bottle of water as they sat down together.

"Well, the teachers are nice, the tour, albeit short, was nice, and I got to meet my potential homeroom teacher, Sensei Becker." Hanoashi admired as she began to tear into her pork bun.

"Sounds German," Aacob chuckled as she also tore into a pork bun of her own.

"She is, but she's easy to understand dispute her German accent." Hanoashi reflected.

"Sounds like you are impressed."

"Yeah," Hanoashi paused from her eating, glancing downward for a moment. "I...I was happy when I got that scholarship from Ooarai. And even more happy when the Sensado team was founded and yet happier that Miho had joined us." Sighing, she took a small bite out of the bun. "Why did things have to go south?" she lamented.

"I guess bad luck and ill intentions," Aacob mused quietly.

"By the way, the girl who tired to plant that stuff on me," Hanoashi brought up. "I get the feeling that I'm missing something big with that situation, but I'm not sure what."

"Well, from what I gather, I think the might have had a back-up plan," Aacob noted.

"A back up plan?" she gasped, her green eyes widening.

"Think about it, who else do you know who had blue eyes and is about 5'7." Someone who would have a grind against you."

Pausing, she let out a small frown. _I don't really know who...wait, an ax to grind against me...blue eyes, and she did look to be about 5'7... _

"You don't mean to tell me she wanted us to think that Ami Chono hired her to do the deed, do you?" Hanoashi gasped.

"Well, more than likely she wanted you to go around spreading that notion." Aacob cautioned. "That way Ami could sue you for liable and perhaps that girl could could worm her way out by making up something."

After a brief pause, Aacob continued. "Something like how she found the pipe just laying around and that I charged her so harshly that she couldn't bring herself to admit that. Still, she forgot to check to make sure that there was no hidden cameras in the building, so it's plain to see that she's guilty."

"Thank you," Hanoashi breathed.

"For what?" Aacob asked, tipping her head.

"For protecting me," she smiled.

"It's no problem," Aacob smiled as she patted her sister on the head. "Besides, you where the one who protected me in the first place, remember?"

"Yeah, I'm just glad everything worked out in the end," Hanoashi breathed, her breath catching as she remembered how Hanoashi's biological dad had drove drunk and crashed, leaving Aacob severely injured.

Her mind flashed back to when she had arrived at the hospital, seeing Aacob in that kind of shape had broken her heart. To make matters worse, some of the nurses had been rather Zenophobic, believing that Hanoashi wasn't worthy to give blood to Aacob on the grounds of her being Irish and Aacob being Japanese.

Had their cousin, Rikona, not showed up and decked the nurse, then Aacob would have died there and then.

"Me too. I've got a wonderful sister and a caring father now," Aacob smiled. "Still, we've got to keep a close eye out until you transfer."

"If I transfer," Hanoashi corrected. "While I've pretty much decided to, there's still something that's holding me back, I guess I'm wanting to think about it a bit more."

"Either you're shy about transferring or brave for staying a bit longer," Aacob teased.

"Either way, I believe that the Spirit of the Maus will see me through," Hanoashi joked.

"Don't forget that you'll have to meet her if Rikona desires to become the Heiress of Ooarai."

"Huh...I'd forgotten about that," Hanoashi admitted.

It was a requirement that all Heiress meet with the Spirit of the Maus, a wise being who had lived hundreds of years. She didn't know much about her though, except that most Academy ships that biased themselves on a Heiress standared required her approval before one could fully become a Heir or Vice heir on said academy.

"Still, I'm not too sure I'd want to come back if that happens after I leave though," Hanoashi confessed.

"There's no rule or law that states you have to attend the school your the vice heiress of, is there?" Aacob asked.

"Well no, the term Vice Heiress basically mean back up Heiress, although if Maus forbid something did happen to Rikona, then I'd have to come back."

"Would you want to though?" Aacob asked.

"In that case, yes. But I'd rather not think on that."


	5. Chapter 5

**I'd like to start out by thanking all of you who have taken the time to read my story. **

**To be honest though there isn't much else for me to say, except that I'm having a blast with writing this story. With that being said, enjoy!**

**Blazepanzer does not own Girls und Panzer.**

"Feels a bit weird still wearing this uniform," Hanoashi confessed as she walked beside Aacob, glancing at her white sleeves.

"Well, you toured Kuromorimine just yesterday, so yeah," Aacob whispered, glancing around. "Best not tell anyone you are planning on transferring though." she added in a harsher whisper.

"Why not?" she asked, glancing at her brunet friend.

"Because then they might try and accelerate any plans they have against you," Aacob hissed, her eyes blazing with emotion. "Do you honestly think that girl is the only idiot around here?"

"You really think all the students are like that?" Hanoashi gasped softly.

"You've seen how they act," Aacob fired back. "I'll do what I can to protect you, but still, I'd keep things on the down low for a while."

"Morning Aacob, Hanoashi," A sleepy Rose chimed.

"Morning," Hanoashi smiled.

"At last, someone I can trust," Aacob groaned.

"Don't pay no attention to her, she's just being overprotective," Hanoashi waved.

"So...when you leaving?" Rose asked.

"Wait...how do you know about that?" Aacob asked cautiously.

"I didn't." Rose shrugged. "But I kinda figured that's the real reason why Hanoashi didn't come to school yesterday."

Sighing, Hanoashi decided to give in. "To be honest, I've been lightly considering the possibility of transferring schools for a while, but that incident with the pipe was what drove me to actually look at another school."

Rose glanced down a second. "I'm sorry... I can't blame you for wanting to leave, especially with what happened."

"It's not your fault Rose, and I'm sure there's a lot of good kids here," Hanoashi admitted. "Still, I'd like to ask that you keep this conversation between us."

"Of course," Rose promised. "But...will you tell Samori? I think she has a right to know that your transferring."

"If I make the final call, I'll let her know," she promised.

"If?" Rose asked.

"Transferring is a big decision and I may yet change my mind at the last minute. It's...doubtful though."

"I understand," Rose reassured her.

With that the trio made their way to their class, a deep silence hovering over them like a dark cloud. _I'm kinda wishing Rose hadn't guessed that I'm planning to transfer,_ Hanoashi mused sadly. _I think she and I would have made good friends. Still...I have to put my education first. _

Class went by rather quickly, and Hanoashi soon found herself back at the Archery range.

"Go ahead and take your bow and arrows, I trust you," Samori ordered, before pointing toward slot seven. "From now own you'll be firing in that area."

"Right," she noted, slowly taking her bow and arrows, self conscious that most of the team was still watching her. Right...your club president trust me enough to bring my own arrows into the chute, but everyone is still sissified that I'm going to lob an arrow at them, she grumbled silently.

Attracting the quiver to the holder, she awaited for the live bottom to turn on. Not much longer now, she thought, excited to be firing her bow without someone over her shoulder for the first time.

A green light flashed briefly, alerting that she was cleared to fire. Setting the range to 125 meters, she took a deep breath as she mentally prepared herself for the volley.

"Ute," she whispered softly, letting her first arrow fly, smiling as she hit the blue area of the target._ Perfect! If I can keep making shots like that or better, I'll be making a more or less positive score! _

**Rose POV:**

_I can't believe it's come to this,_ she sighed, firing her last arrow, frowning as it ended up in the white area. "Really..." she muttered, restraining herself from slamming her compound bow into the holder slot.

"You alright?" Her teammate asked.

"I guess I've got a lot on my mind," she admitted softly.

"Want to talk about it?"

Rose shook her head. "No...it's something I need to keep to myself."

"That time of month again?" her teammate teased.

"No," Rose hissed, not in the mood to discuss that. Thankfully, her teammate left it at that.

_It's not fair that she's been driven from this school!_ Rose protested silently. _ All she was trying to do was ensure that the Sensado team kept themselves safe and learned the proper safety procedures. _

As they received the green light, Rose exited the chute, slowly retrieving her arrows. She sneaked a glance over at Hanoashi's board, a mix of pride and sorrow flooding her. _She has the making of a good archer, given enough time. _

Sighing, she pulled the last of the arrows out and slowly walked back to her chute. _Would Hanoashi join the Archery club, or the Sensado club at her new school? Does that school even have both and if not, which one does it lack? _

It was unlikely that Rose would ever receive an answer, nor would she try to quench her curiosity as any questions she could asked her would just drive her friend closer to leaving.

Firing once again, she shut her eyes as she hit the black area. "It's just not working for me today," she hissed. "At this rate I'll need to go back to a scout bow."

"Surely not," Her teammate gasped.

"If I keep making hits like this," Rose trailed off, before firing her second shot, hitting the blue area. "I'd give that a meh."

"How's Katoni doing?" Takio called out.

"Seems like she's starting to get the hang of things," Rose reported from what she could see. _Are they really that sissified of her...so afraid that they placed her in a chute a couple of slots away from ours?_ Rose wondered.

Knowing full well that Hanoashi didn't strike the instructor, Rose had tried to discuss it with Samori, yet her club president was adamant on letting Katoni prove her own innocence through actions. She squinted her eyes shut in disappointment at leaving the conversation at that._ Am I as bad as those on the Sensado team?_ She wondered.

After several more shots, Rose exited the chute, placing her bow and arrows in the holding area. She jumped as Samroi patted her on the shoulder.

"Is something bothering you?" she asked quietly.

_You know damn well what's bothering me!_ Rose thought in anger. Yet again, she decided to drop it for the moment. "Not really..." she muttered, before walking out the door.

**Hanoashi POV: **

Letting out a gusty sigh as she left the building, Hanoashi glanced at her sister. "They still don't trust me," she whispered somberly.

"Try not to let it get you down, at least they let you fire on your own, and your scores are improving," Aacob tried to encourage.

"Fire on my own?" Hanoashi laughed. "Aacob, they placed me in a chute three slots away from the rest of the team."

"That wasn't lost on me or the instructor," Aacob reassured her.

"Or me," Rose chimed in as she ran up to them.

"Thanks Rose," Hanoashi smiled.

"So..." Rose glanced around, looking like she wanted to say something.

"What is it Rose?" Hanoashi asked.

"Well...we don't have any homework and since I'm not quite ready to head home yet, I was wondering if you and Aacob would like to walk around the park with me?" Rose asked.

"Sure."

Aacob nodded and with that, the three headed off toward the park.

"How long have you been in Archery?" Hanoashi asked.

"About two years now, Samori was the one who introduced me to the sport." Rose smiled, her gaze growing nostalgic. "Back then we where only allowed to use up to compound bows and only in our final year, so I'm excited to get the opportunity to fire different types of bows."

"I wasn't allowed to take up a club until I was adopted by the Katoni, so..." Aacob glanced away. "I was helping Nakasuga-san with the Sensado team when I received the call to come here."

"So you where interested in Sensado too?" Rose asked.

Aacob shook her head. "I was a bit, having seen my sister place in the grade school main tournament," she admitted.

"So this wasn't your first time in Sensado?"Rose asked, turning to her in surprise.

Hanoashi nodded. "I had spent my grade school years in Sensado," she confessed. "M...Miho was my mentor." she added somberly.

"Oh." Rose glanced away. "I...I'm so sorry."

She couldn't respond right away. _Miho-san...why did things go so wrong?_ Hanoashi wondered.

"Help! Somebody help us!"

Snapping out of her trance, Hanoashi took off, Aacob and Rose following. Hanoashi gasped when she saw Takio on the ground, bleeding from her leg with Samroi holding her hand.

"Aacob, give me your shirt and call for emergency services! Rose, Samroi, Keep her from moving if she tries," She ordered, before taking off her shirt and skirt, wrapping Takio's leg up with her uniform shirt.

"You know first aid," Samori gasped.

"Her cousin is studying to be a nurse, and they've studied intensively together." Aacob informed, before hooking her cellphone up to the mini-headset. "Aacob to emergency crews, we've got a wounded student here, goes by the name of Takio...er...What's her last name?"

Hanoashi didn't catch that as she was transfixed with trying to stop the bleeding. "What in the world did you cut yourself on," she muttered as she now had to take Aacob's shirt and place it over her own.

"Your uniforms," Takio moaned.

"Would you rather me save you or the stupid shirts," Hanoashi grunted. "Stay still," she hissed as Takio tried to move her leg.

"Hanoashi, they say they need someone with an O- blood type," Aacob called out.

"Gotta be me then," Hanoashi affirmed. "Tell them I'm coming with on the Helo." she added.

"Rodger, they say the Helo will be here in three minutes," Aacob noted.

Takio suddenly went still, though Hanoashi could still feel heat coming from her body. "Aacob, please check her pulse."

Aacob quickly scooted over, placing her finger on Takio's wrist. "Still beating," Aacob whispered with relief.

"Then she's passed out, not gone into cardio arrest," Hanoashi sighed as the helicopter came into view, landing beside her s short time later.

"Going to be a hassle with the school administration, but you just saved her life by using your uniforms," the ems worker pointed out.

"Please, I've had to deal with near expulsion, fake rumors, and someone trying to plant drugs on me, I think I can deal with a little flack over not having a proper uniform for a few days." Hanoashi muttered as the workers took over.

"Are you sure you're up to a blood transfusion," the pilot called out. "You just did one for Aacob nine months ago."

"I'm sure," Hanoashi affirmed as she climbed into the Helocoptor. "Aacob, take good care of Rose and Samroi while I'm gone, okay?"

"You got it sis," Aacob smiled.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Hanoashi glanced at her teammate. "Hold on Takio."

**Takio POV six hours later:**

Opening up her eyes, Takio let out a small gasp as she tried to rise up, finding herself struggling slightly from dizziness. Daring to glance at her leg, she frowned as she saw it in a cast._ Is it broke or is it to help seal the wound?_ she wondered.

Turning her gaze toward the window her jaw dropped when she saw Hanoashi laying there. _Why is she here?_ Takio wondered, surprised. _Oh...right...wasn't she trying to stop the bleeding with her uniform? _

The doors opened as a nurse walked in. "Takio, you're awake." the nurse smiled.

"Yeah...what happened anyways."

"Well, Aacob called for medivac, and Hanoashi not only held off the bleeding long enough for us to get to the scene, but also gave you a blood transfusion."

"She...gave me a blood transfusion," Takio gasped, glancing at the ginger haired girl.

The nurse gave a small nod. "Yeah," pausing she glanced down. "During the transfusion, she spoke of her time at Ooarai, how she loved the school and Archery...though she seemed sad when I brought you and the other club members up."

_She...oh no...what have we done!_ Shaking her head, she frowned. "I can't blame her. Back at Ooarai, there was a rumor that most of us believed." she confessed softly. "Aside from our newest member, Rose, we've been...suspicious of her, even though the rumor..."

The nurse gently took Takio's hand. "Be that as you may, I think that if you hear her side of the story, you'll see that you have no reason to fear her." she reassured her.

"I already know that now," Takio whispered. "I just hope I'm not too late to apologize."

"I'm sure she'll forgive you," the nurse reassured her. "Call me if you need anything," she added, before walking out the door.

Takio glanced at her teammate. "Katoni-san" she whispered.

She had no intention of waking her, but Hanoashi ended up stirring. "Takio...are you awake?" she asked as she rose up, sitting on her bed and folding her hands into her lap.

"Yeah...did I wake you?"

"No...I've been resting lightly for the past few hours, looks like we'll be here for a few days."

Glancing at her teammate, Takio lowered her head. "Look...I...I'm sorry."

"About what?" Hanoashi asked, tipping her head sideways.

"For...for treating you differently." Pausing for a brief moment Takio decided to continue. "We...we've been treating you like some sort of danger, acting like you where dangerous biased on some dumb rumor."

"You really think I was that dangerous?" Hanoashi also glanced down.

"I did...as did others. Samori also, though she was most willing to give you a chance. Only Rose thought otherwise." Glancing at her, Takio sighed. "I was wrong, we all were. I hope you'll give us another chance.

Watching her Kohai's reaction, she couldn't help noticing how Hanoashi was clutching her gown.

"Truth is," Hanoashi began. "Truth is...one of the new commanders was directing her crew over a bridged that had recently been reinforced just enough to bring the tank in for repairs. Being new to the operation of a tank, her driver must have veered slightly to the left, as several of the wire supports had snapped and her tank was lurching off the edge."

Sighing, Hanoashi continued. "One of our tanks, a Stug III, had fired on that tank, saving the crew from falling off. Normally, the instructor would pause the match until that crew was safe, but everyone aside from my crew kept firing, including the tank on the bridge."

"But isn't that dangerous?" Takio gasped.

Hanoashi nodded in response. "Yeah. I had hoped to speak to my instructor privately after the match, but when we all got back, our instructor actually applauded the crew on the bridge, even though they nearly got themselves killed."

Sighing loudly, Hanoashi glanced away. "And that's where I snapped. I shouted that what that team did was dangerous and that we really needed to work on safety rules and procedures before we even thought about doing anything else. In response, she told me that she didn't want me on the team and I left."

"Just like that?"

Hanoashi glanced back at her. "Just like that. At the time, I thought I'd just pick up a club transfer request and change clubs, but...well...the next day I was almost expelled for striking my instructor. Had it not been for the student council...well I'd probably be working on some farm or as a waitress somewhere."

"I...I had no idea it was that bad." Takio murmured. "I...I think you should tell the rest of the Archery team what really happened."

"Do you think it would help?" her teammate asked gently.

Takio nodded. "Yeah...I think it will," she paused as she let out a small yawn.

"You should get some sleep," Hanoashi urged her. "You need to rest."

"I think I should...thank you, Katoni-san...for everything," she whispered, before pulling the sheet over her.

**Hanoashi POV:**

Watching her teammate go to sleep, Hanoashi suddenly felt herself growing tired. _I'd almost forgotten how tiring this is,_ she mused as she likewise laid down.

_I...I'm glad I did it though. Even if Takio had kept on distrusting me, I wouldn't change what I've done in a heartbeat._ She smiled gently as she seemed to have proven herself trustworthy, or at least safe in Takio's eyes.

_But...is that going to be enough for me to stay at Ooarai? _

The question flooded into her mind as she closed her eyes. _Truth is, there is no answer for me at the present. I guess it depends on where things go from here in the next week or two. _


End file.
